New DU Athletic Director Ron Grahame has always had a home with the Pioneers

Author:
Aaron Matas , KUSA

Published:08/31/17

The title is new, but the workplace isn't. New University of Denver Athletic Director Ron Grahame has always been a Pioneer.

"I've kind of been all things here," Grahame said.

Grahame has always had a home at DU. He's been a member of the school's family since 1969, and it's all he really knows.

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He started his journey as a student-athlete, playing goalie for the hockey team from 1969-1973. He still remembers his first game.

"I was a very scared young man, to be perfectly honest," Grahame said. "The Michigan Tech players were huge, and I thought I couldn't possibly play at this level. I gradually worked into it."

That is a bit of an understatement. Grahame is in the DU Athletic Hall of Fame, and to this day, he holds the school record for career saves and wins.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a source of pride for me," Grahame said.

Grahame went on to play eight seasons of pro hockey before eventually returning to the University of Denver. He served as the Associate Hockey coach from 1982-1990.

"I always thought coaching would be something that I would try to do, and fortunately I was given that opportunity at DU," Grahame said.

His nameplate would change again in the 90's when he moved into the school's administration, but still managed to stay close to the ice. Grahame pulled double duty, helping out as a color commentator on the team's hockey broadcasts.

After more than 30 years of combined experience at the school, he's now running the show athletically. And, he just so happens to be running a department that had three teams come very close to national titles a year ago, and a fourth, men's ice hockey, that won the championship trophy.

"I think I would be a fool if I thought that I needed to change anything," Grahame said.

When former AD Peg Bradley-Doppes announced she would retire in 2018, she decided it was time to turn the role over to someone else.

The top candidate was there the whole time. Of course, it just meant one last change in job title.